Freeman Foundation awards $400,000 to UH Manoa College of Education and School of Pacific and Asian Studies

"There is a shortage of Chinese teachers at K-12 schools across the United States. With the Freeman grant, UH will become one of the few universities in the country that can produce K-12 Chinese language teachers. Asian Languages & Literatures (EALL) and College of Education (COE) will work closely to produce high quality Chinese language teachers that will meet the states' license requirements. We hope that the Freeman grant will attract students to both EALL and COE, and strengthen our course offerings." - Tao-Chung Yao, Professor of Chinese, Department of East Asian Languages & Literatures, Colleges of Arts & Sciences, UH Mānoa

HONOLULU — The University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is proud to announce the gift of $400,000 from the Freeman Foundation to the College of Education and the School of Pacific and Asian Studies for the Chinese Language Teacher Education Program.

This gift will expand teacher training of K-12 Chinese-language teachers in the nation by training up to 50 new Chinese language teachers in the next three years. In addition, this fundingwill create an ongoing teacher preparation program to meet the increasing demand for more Chinese language teachers in K—12 schools.

With this new project, the College of Education is partnering with the School of Pacific and Asian Studies, the Center for Chinese Studies, the Confucius Institute, the Department of EastAsian Languages and Literatures, and the Department of Second Language Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. In addition, the college will also collaborate with the HawaiʻiDepartment of Education, the Hawaiʻi Teacher Standards Board, the Hawaiʻi Association of Independent Schools, and other institutions outside of Hawaiʻi.

"The UH Foundation is proud to connect donors with a progressive international vision, with the innovative programming taking place at UH. Through strategic investments by groups like theFreeman Foundation, we can build on UH's first 100 years and enter the new century with a global vision, and channel private support into enhancing programs that bring nations together," said Donna Vuchinich, UH Foundation President and CEO

About the University of Hawaiʻi FoundationThe University of Hawaiʻi Foundation is an independent, university-related, nonprofit organization whose purpose is to raise private funds according to priorities determined by theacademic leadership of the University of Hawaiʻi and approved by the Board of Regents. Founded in 1955, the Foundation provides a full range of fund raising and alumni relations services for all 10 UH campuses. For more information on the Foundation, visitwww.uhf.hawaii.edu.